Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Diabetes Awareness Month and the 90th anniversary of the discovery of insulin by Banting and Best

I want to thank Elaine Petreman who invited me to speak on "Foot Care and Diabetes" yesterday afternoon at St Mark's Church in Peterborough, ON. Over a 90 minute period I answered many questions posed by the attendees during an interactive presentation. There were many sponsors present at the event. Elaine along with Greg Mather organized a great event. They both volunteer for the Peterborough chapter of the Canadian Diabetes Association and should be commended for helping to educate people about their diabetes. The discovery of insulin was a very important discovery by the medical researchers at the University of Toronto in 1921. Their discovery has saved countless lives around the world.  Unfortunately, diabetic complications such retinopathy(eye), nephropathy(kidney), neuropathy(nerve) and macrovascular(blood vessel blockage) are common problems that occur in diabetics with uncontrolled blood glucose.  The prevention of diabetic foot ulcers can save the heath care system the cost of foot and leg amputations. The work of the Canadian Diabetes Association is important to help educate Canadians of the dangers of uncontrolled diabetes and its complications.